note to self: forget that the dan ryan ever existed, until 2008 or so.

straight from the horse’s mouth:

“Drivers of passenger vehicles should avoid the Dan Ryan entirely,” said IDOT Secretary Tim Martin. While many motorists will use public transportation or IDOT-designated alternate routes, truckers will be urged to stay on the expressway because their vehicles are too heavy for local streets. “Our message is ‘Cars Off, Trucks On,'” said Martin.

in order to accomodate increased traffic on the locals… (via various sources):

“Cars will be ticketed [now], but beginning Monday April 3rd, cars will be towed. By March 15th you’ll see signs banning parking during rush hour on several streets, including Cottage Grove, Stony Island, Halsted, Ashland, Roosevelt, and King Drive.” “This is due to reconstruction of the Dan Ryan south of Roosevelt to I-57. They are closing the on ramp outbound on Roosevelt and directing all traffic down Halsted.” “In the meantime expect long traffic delays on Halsted and most likely all major north-south streets that parallel the Dan Ryan or are near the Dan Ryan. In addition, southbound traffic on the Dan Ryan will experience ‘drastic’ delays that will back up the Kennedy and the Edens. ‘Drastic’ is the word posted on the signs on the Kennedy. It is advised that you plan alternate routes, extra travel time, or take public transportation.”

well, all of this certainly sounds like a lot of fun! i think i will revisit the idea of switching back to transit/transit+bike after i move. seriously, fuck this noise. i am not driving an hour one way to work and spending it all in gridlock. really, it just figures that this happens right after i finally cave in and get a parking spot at work. (yes, it could be argued that i am a dumbass, as i never take the dan ryan and thus simply forgot about it all, and if i had been thinking clearly i would have seen that “south traffic” == “teh suxx0r for years to come,” but. i prefer to blame others, such as ephemeral forces of fate who do bad things to me when taunted!)

see also, for all your late-breaking bad news updates: http://www.danryanexpressway.com/. (obligatory explanation: i do not now take the ryan to work, nor had i planned to begin taking it after i move — i take LSD⁰ and like it that way — but if LSD and all the locals are going to get stupid, … i have better ways to spend my time than in my car sitting on my ass burning useless gasoline while i idle in bumper-to-bumper traffic or crawl down a street from intersection to intersection. that’s what bus drivers are paid to do, and plus, they’re way meaner than me when it comes to sneaking through red lights.) —
0 – YES YES HA HA VERY FUNNY NO ONE’S EVER MADE THAT JOKE BEFORE.